Painting and Dating for Dummies
by spazzyd
Summary: She's moved on.


**Painting (and Dating) for Dummies**

Season: Ten  
Spoilers: Fragile Balance, Heroes, anything that has to do with Nyan (which is very little)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Cassie's moved on with her life, with the help of some friends and SG-1.  
A/N: This fic was posted on the _Loose Ends (and Forgotten Beginnings) Ficathon_ for majorsamfan.

* * *

Frowning at her, _Cosmo_ magazine with barely contained annoyance, Cassandra Frasier turned the page and sighed. Her eyes were on the cute shoes before her, but her mind was on her friend's antics in the other room. Nyan had been adamant about painting his condo this weekend, and though she had recommended simply hiring professional painters to do the job, here she sat, her hair and face lightly sprinkled with cherry blossom red and woodwind gold paint. She'd had to change her shirt when Nyan accidentally bumped up against her with an open paint can in hand. She'd exploded at him. He could be such a klutz sometimes.

She knew Nyan wasn't looking much better, yet he continued to rather feverishly paint both walls of his study with minimal plastic covering for the carpet. He was refusing to admit that he'd been wrong all along, if his blatant ignorance of her presence now was any indication.

Cassie sighed again. It had been a long day – a long weekend, really – and she had two exams, a project and a paper to work on before Wednesday. After that, Sam and the guys would be arriving in Denver on Thursday to spend the weekend with her at her house while her roommate, Jenny, was away. This semester had been tough (again), and she could already feel the effects of the stress causing her patience with life in general to wan.

Nyan had become an unexpected confidante for her over the past several years. Joined together by the fact that they were both aliens, and were therefore constantly on the Pentagon's radar, they forged a friendship during her freshman year in high school. Though Nyan was technically considered several Earth years older than herself, they were very compatible and got along great. Still, it wasn't until her mom died that Cassie realized how much she depended upon him.

By the time Cassie was living on her own in Denver a year later, Nyan had been living outside of the SGC and working for a military-contracted corporation for four years. He had a job he enjoyed at Colson Enterprises, and made a decent living off of it as well.

There were some things he'd had to do to accommodate the government's requirements for life outside of the SGC, though. For instance, he'd had to become a "citizen" of the United States. He also had to create a legal name for himself, opting for Nyan Gates. Surprisingly, Teal'c had helped him come up with that one.

Nyan was more familiar with the ins and outs of the Air Force, in terms of how it kept tabs of its charges. And despite his seemingly introverted personality, he'd even managed to seek out General Jack O'Neill's young clone, John, and befriend him. Though John had initially been adamant about his desire to be as far away from Nyan, Cassie and his past life as possible, Nyan weaseled his little way into John's heart, as he had so graciously put it, and John was happier for it.

As he once told Cassie over pizza and beer one night, Nyan was close enough to his old life to remember who he was, but far enough away to keep him sane.

Unfortunately, Cassie realized, the same went for her as well. She didn't quite know what to think of that, though she could definitely relate.

She'd done her best to distance herself from Sam and the others that horrendous year following her mother's death. It wasn't until her freshman year in college that the walls came crashing down about her shoulders, and she finally allowed Sam to help her, just as they'd both wanted all along.

That evening, Nyan and Cassie were planning on meeting John for dinner at one of the steakhouses in town. He had found himself a date, much to Cassie's amusement, and had demanded that the two of them couple with him. Though Cassie and Nyan had always maintained a platonic friendship, John somehow got it into his head that they were a couple, and continued to treat them accordingly.

Cassie wasn't sure if he was doing it to get under her skin, or because he truly believed it. Either way, she knew she could use the distraction from classes for one more evening. Besides, this astrophysicist friend of his sounded nice.

"Cass?" Nyan called from the other room. "I, uh, know we're not talking to each other right now, but can you come in here and check this out, please?"

Rolling her eyes and glancing at the clock, Cassie nodded and headed for his study. As she entered, the strong scent of paint that had been resting in her nose in the living room assaulted her. Looking around, she had to acknowledge that Nyan had done a pretty good job.

"Nice," she said simply. "I like it."

"Really?" Nyan didn't quite believe her.

"Yeah, I really do," Cassie enthused. "I'm just sorry I didn't help you. It might've gone a little faster."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," he quipped as he wiped his hands on a rag. "But thanks for helping me out in the first place. I think I'm going to call it a day now."

Cassie felt her eyes grow at that admission, noting that he had at least two or three more rooms to go. "You want to start again early tomorrow morning?"

"Nah," he replied as he averted his attention to cleaning up the mess, "I think I'm just going to wait until Monday, and call the professionals."

She kept her expression neutral and shrugged in understanding. "It can be hard on your own. You have a big place, Ny."

"Yep," he agreed with a nod. "Plus, this will give me a chance to get ready for tonight. Are we going to Duke's?"

"I think so," Cassie replied as she began to clean up as well. "That's John's favorite place in town."

"I figured." Nyan grinned. "You know, I'm kinda interested to see this scientist friend of his. I thought John, ya know… didn't really care for them."

Cassie chuckled. "Oh that? Come on, Nyan, you know that's all a front. Why else would he have such good relationships with Daniel, Sam, you or me?"

"Because of our natural charisma?" Nyan cracked.

"Yeah right." She threw a rag at him and rolled her eyes, before turning to the wall in thought. "But I know what you mean. She'll definitely be a change from the other… characters… John has brought to dinner in the past. A marked change, in fact, but a rather familiar one."

Nyan narrowed his eyes as he saw the wheels in Cassie's mind turning. "Cassie, I know what you're thinking, and I think the best thing for all of us would be for you to keep it to yourself tonight."

Cassie's eyebrows raised in mock-offense, and she feigned innocence as she shook her head. "Nyan, I have no idea what you're talking about. But," she held up one finger in the air, "if this girl has blond hair and blue eyes, don't say I didn't predict it."

* * *

"Would you stop fidgeting?" Cassie snapped at John as he set and reset her silverware on the napkin. "You're making me nervous!"

"What?" John demanded as he moved his restless hands to his collar. "I'm not fidgeting!"

Casting a glance at Nyan, Cassie suppressed a grin and took a sip of her cola. She figured this gal had to be a real knockout of a girl for John to be so uptight about the first date. Typically he was Mr. Suave.

"So, tell us more about Melissa," Nyan pressed as he glanced around the restaurant for any patrons who entered alone. "How did you meet her again?"

"Oh, she and I were in the same philosophy class about a year and a half ago. We seemed to travel in the same group of friends. She and I have always had a great connection, and there's always been this safety net between us that allows us to just trust each other." John sighed and stared at his glass of Guinness, his mind a million miles away. "I haven't felt that way with anyone in a long time."

"Then it's great that the two of you have decided to pursue a romantic relationship, John." Nyan smiled at John, his eyes never straying to look at Cassie. He knew all too well how John felt.

Oblivious to Nyan's discomfort, Cassie decided to lunge with the one detail that seemed to clinch her theory. "You said she studies astrophysics?"

"Yeah, she'll be graduating with top honors at the university this December," John answered distractedly, as he eyed the burgeoning crowd at the door. "That'll put me about a year behind her, but something tells me I'll always be trailing behind her in that department."

"She's a smart cookie then?" Cassie asked as she avoided Nyan's glare and took another drink.

"Yeah." John squinted his eyes. "And there's just something about her. Something that's just so familiar about her that I can't quite place."

Cassie nearly choked, barely containing her laughter at John's ignorance. He could be so genuinely dense sometimes.

Nyan shook his head in dismay, and tried to distract John from Cassie's shameless display of amusement. "Have we met her before then?"

Slowly tearing his gaze away from Cassie's giggling, John turned to Nyan and shrugged. "Possibly around campus, but I don't think so. Maybe you guys can help me figure out where to place her though." Nyan smiled and nodded, desperately hoping that Cassie was wrong.

Because if she was right, he'd never hear the end of it.

Those hopes were immediately dashed when John suddenly sprung from his chair, nearly overturning all of their glasses when he oh-so-coolly waved Melissa over to their table. As Nyan turned to greet her with a handshake, he had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. Cassie had been dead-on with her presumption. Melissa stood tall, just a few inches shorter than John's own tall frame, and her blond hair nearly reached her shoulders. With piercing blue eyes, she smiled brightly and said hello to both Nyan and a rather smug Cassie.

"Did you find the place OK?" John asked quietly.

Cassie was momentarily taken aback by the tender way in which he asked that one question. John was a gruff guy, his mind and life experiences making him come across as a crotchety old man in a young guy's body – which, admittedly, was in part quite true. Cassie had always known Jack and John's soft, compassionate and sweet side. Still, she'd grown so accustomed to John's chagrined outlook on life, she never expected him to take on such a concerned role.

"Yeah, I did," Melissa answered with a teasing grin, "though you said north of Gray Avenue, and it was definitely south."

John tried to frown, but couldn't keep the smile off of his face long enough. "I did not! I said south of Gray Avenue, right across from the Staples."

"No," she corrected immediately, "you said north of Gray Avenue, right across from the Denny's. I'm just glad I saw it when I did."

John shook his head and groaned, before he leaned back and rested against the back of the booth. "Sorry guys. I forgot to mention that Melissa, for all of her intelligence, is directionally challenged."

"Oh, that's OK," Cassie replied. "Nyan can totally relate to that in every way."

"Hey!" Nyan cried, before turning to Melissa. "That is not true. I get around just fine, actually. And I can totally relate to using landmarks to identify where you are."

"See!" Melissa exclaimed triumphantly. "I'm not the only one who thinks like that."

Suddenly the waiter approached the table, his pen and pad in hand. "Hi, how are you guys doing tonight? My name's Jeff, and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some appetizers?"

Once they'd given their orders to Jeff, Melissa returned to the conversation without missing a beat. "And for the record, I get around just fine, too." She winked at Nyan. "I got here, didn't I?"

"Uh huh." John feigned disinterest as he eyed the football game on the television across the restaurant. "We'll just see how you lead us to our destination when we go camping in two weeks."

Cassie scrunched up her nose in mild distaste. "You guys are going camping?"

"Oh, yeah!" Melissa replied. "I love it. John says he knows his way around a forest, but I just don't believe City Boy here has ever pitched a tent before in his life."

"Oh, I think he's pitched one or two before," Cassie assured with a grin, ignoring John's sideways glance in her direction. "In fact, I think that's one thing he can do while you're out there. Just don't ask him to cook."

"I can cook!" John retorted. "You just have no appreciation for MRE cuisine." He turned to Melissa and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I've known her for years, and if you've ever met a City Girl before, Cassie is it."

"Tell me about it," Nyan agreed. "I've never seen someone so dependent on electronics before. But being out there in the woods can be very relaxing. I think it's wonderful up there."

"Really?" Melissa laughed. "Well, maybe the two of you guys could join us. We could make it sort of a couples camping trip!"

Both John and Cassie looked mightily disturbed at the prospects. John suspected it was because Cassie couldn't hack it out there; Cassie suspected it was because John had other plans for the weekend that involved some serious alone time. She shuddered at the thought.

"We really wouldn't want to intrude on your trip," she suggested gracefully. "Maybe next time, after you guys have had a chance up there?"

"No, no," Nyan countered as he wrapped his arm around Cassie's waist and squeezed lightly. "I think that would be a great idea. Melissa, you and I might be able to crack these two city kids in one weekend alone."

"John?" Melissa asked, turning to face John. "How does that sound? Cassie looks pretty anti, but I'm sure Nyan and I could convince her otherwise. It's up to you."

John pondered it for a moment, deciding that he could still have some time alone with Melissa even with Nyan and Cassie there. They'd be able to keep themselves busy, he was sure. "You know," he answered finally with a devious grin, "I think it would be pretty hilarious to watch Cassie try to fish for food and rough it like the rest of us."

"There you have it!" Nyan announced.

"Yep!" Melissa grinned. "It looks like we're all set!"

"John!" Cassie cried. "How could you?"

"It was nothing personal, Cassie," John assured. "But picturing you with a fishing pole and dead fish is a sight to behold. Trust me, it'll be worth it."

Cassie could do nothing but scowl and say, "Traitor. I'll remember this."

The others chuckled at her betrayal. But somehow Cassie knew that she'd have the last laugh when it was all said and done.

* * *

Teal'c should have been struggling with the five bags of groceries he was lugging from Daniel's Durango, but unsurprisingly he wasn't. With one feeble grunt, he gently set the bags on the counter and hurried back for more, passing Daniel and Jack with the duffel bags on the way.

"Jeez, Daniel!" Jack hollered. "What'd you pack in here anyway?"

Daniel didn't respond, opting instead to greet Cassie with a half hug. "Hey, Cass. How's it going?"

"I'm fine, Daniel, thanks!" Cassie grinned, squeezing him a bit harder than either of them expected. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know," Daniel began with a grin, "just some Earth-saving here and some Earth-saving there. Nothing special."

Cassie rolled her eyes, but her smile grew. "I expect no less." Glancing behind him, Cassie frowned. "Where's Sam?"

"Oh, she's out there talking to Nyan. We caught him while he was on his way out," Daniel replied slyly. "I don't think she realized how close you two are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cassie inquired as Daniel set his two duffels down near the couch and headed for the kitchen to help unload the groceries.

Teal'c had already left and come back with more, and was doing most of the work by himself. "I believe DanielJackson is referring to your romantic relationship with NyanGates," he intoned.

Cassie's mouth gaped open, forming a complete 'O,' yet nothing came out. Neither of the men expected her silence, which effectively confirmed their suspicions.

"Don't look so shocked, Cassie," Jack said as he entered the kitchen, nudged her in the shoulder, and got to work with the others. "We're not as out of touch as we look."

"That's right," Daniel agreed sarcastically. "We know all about the dating scene these days."

"Actually, John told Teal'c while they were IMing a few nights ago," Sam announced as she walked into the kitchen.

They all ignored Jack's minor squirming at the mention of his clone. Out of all of them, Teal'c was the only one who had maintained semi-constant contact with John. They emailed each other and IMed every once in a while, and Teal'c was the one who got him hooked on online gaming. It helped that he'd also had a strong friendship with Nyan from the beginning, too.

Sam joined the guys in stocking Cassie's pantry and fridge with food – a ritual that she had once resented, but that she'd now grown to greatly appreciate. "He said you guys all went on a double date last Saturday."

"That?" Cassie laughed. "Oh, that was just a favor for John. He practically begged us to go with him." She pointed to the fridge. "See, there's a picture of the three of us and his date right there."

Daniel did a double take from across the kitchen when he spotted the picture, and Teal'c also had to stop what he was doing to take a closer look. Cassie knew what had gotten their attention, and had to stifle a triumphant grin.

"That was his date?" Daniel deadpanned.

"Yep," Cassie confirmed with a nod. "She studies astrophysics at the University of Denver, and she's getting her degree in mechanical engineering."

"Hmmm." Daniel thought about it for a moment. "I should be surprised, but somehow… I'm not."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, his gaze still on the digital picture.

Jack was deliberately distancing himself from all things John-related by putting all of the canned vegetables away, and Sam had coincidentally busied herself with a stubborn jar of black olives. Finally, she was able to remove the top and greedily fish three out with her fingers. When she looked up, three expectant pairs of eyes were on her.

"Wha?" she demanded, her mouth full. "Ah bawt theesh olifs fo meh."

"Nyan didn't believe me when I predicted this would happen," Cassie explained to Daniel and Teal'c. "He thought I was crazy."

"Well, he was half right," Daniel notedcheekily.

Punching him lightly on the shoulder, Cassie rolled her eyes. "But you have to admit that the resemblance is - "

"Uncanny," Teal'c finished. "Yes."

Sam swallowed and frowned, while Jack slowly turned around to join the conversation once more. As he walked over to the fridge, Sam glared at Cassie. "What are you guys talking about?"

This time, all eyes turned to Jack in anticipation as he gave the picture a good once over. Though he liked to pretend that he didn't care if John lived or died, he really did hope the guy was doing OK. And he was glad that Teal'c, Cassie and Nyan were his friends. It was good to know that people he trusted were keeping friendly tabs on him.

Finally, after a lengthy pause, Jack shrugged and moved back to the cupboard, a can of tomatoes in hand. Disappointed in the lack of response of any kind, Daniel followed Jack to the cupboard with a bounce in his step. "So, Jack. What'd you think of John's date?"

Jack pondered the question for a minute, before setting the can in the cupboard and turning to Daniel impassively. "Well, obviously the man still has impeccable taste."

Sam didn't understand why Daniel and Cassie were laughing, though, by the way they were looking at her, she was pretty sure it was at her expense. After fishing another olive from the jar, she walked over to the picture and eyed the subjects for but a moment, before she turned to the others with a resigned nod.

"You see it now, don't you?" Cassie asked, grinning from ear to ear. Daniel and Teal'c seemed to be waiting for a response as well, and Jack had once again found the cupboard to be quite fascinating.

Sam smiled self-deprecatingly and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I do. Teal'c, you were absolutely right when you said it earlier in the car: It's obvious that Nyan and Cassie are great for each other. I'm happy for you, Cassie. Nyan's a good guy."

With that, Sam took her prized jar of olives and headed back towards the living room, Cassie's _Cosmo_ and her roommate's _Entertainment Weekly_ in hand. It looked like Nyan deserved the third degree and a decent lecture after all. She'd have to get the guys on that right away before the weekend was over.

'Scratch that,' she thought a second later, 'I'll do it myself.'


End file.
